SHANGHAI, China, March 10, 2025 — GDS Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GDS; HKEX: 9698), a leading Chinese data center developer and operator, announced today that it has reached definitive agreements to monetize a 70% net equity interest in some of its data centers. The implied enterprise value (EV) to EBITDA multiple is approximately 13 times. GDS is selling 100% equity in certain data center project companies to a private REIT (P-REIT), a special equity scheme involving an Asset Backed Security (ABS). In this first-of-its-kind transaction, 70% of the ABS is subscribed by leading Chinese institutional investors, including China Life Insurance Company Limited (China Life). GDS will subscribe for the remaining 30% and retain operational rights for the underlying data centers. The ABS will be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange as a standardized security. The P-REIT structure is designed to facilitate the future inclusion of the ABS into a public REIT vehicle (C-REIT) when eligible.

The transaction’s total EV is approximately RMB 2.9 billion. The total equity consideration is approximately RMB 1.7 billion, or RMB 1.2 billion net of GDS’s 30% reinvestment in the ABS. GDS will receive approximately RMB 500 million in net cash proceeds upon closing. The remaining net cash proceeds of approximately RMB 700 million will be paid upon meeting certain milestones related to the ramp-up of the underlying data centers. At closing, GDS will deconsolidate the data center project companies, including existing debt and other net liabilities of approximately RMB 1.2 billion.

William Huang, Chairman and CEO of GDS, stated, “We are pleased to announce this groundbreaking deal for our asset monetization program. This is the first P-REIT transaction in China’s data center sector, representing a true sale and successful monetization of data center assets. We appreciate the participation of China Life as the anchor investor, and China Life Investment Management Company Limited as the coordinator and advisor (the alternative investment platform of China Life Group). This highlights their confidence in our capabilities as a leading data center operator in China and the outlook for the sector as we advance into the AI era.”

The transaction is expected to close within the next three months, subject to certain closing conditions.

About GDS Holdings Limited

GDS Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GDS; HKEX: 9698) is a leading developer and operator of high-performance data centers in China. The Company’s facilities are strategically located in and around primary economic hubs where demand for high-performance data center services is concentrated. The Company’s data centers have large net floor area, high power capacity, density and efficiency, and multiple redundancies across all critical systems. GDS is carrier and cloud-neutral, which enables its customers to access the major telecommunications networks, as well as the largest PRC and global public clouds, which are hosted in many of its facilities. The Company offers co-location and a suite of value-added services, including managed hybrid cloud services through direct private connection to leading public clouds, managed network services, and, where required, the resale of public cloud services. The Company has a 24-year track record of service delivery, successfully fulfilling the requirements of some of the largest and most demanding customers for outsourced data center services in China. The Company’s customer base consists predominantly of hyperscale cloud service providers, large internet companies, financial institutions, telecommunications carriers, IT service providers, and large domestic private sector and multinational corporations. The Company also holds a non-controlling 35.6% equity interest in DayOne Data Centers Limited which develops and operates data centers in International markets.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

GDS Holdings Limited
Laura Chen
Phone: +86 (21) 2029-2203
Email: ir@gds-services.com

Piacente Financial Communications
Ross Warner
Phone: +86 (10) 6508-0677
Email: GDS@tpg-ir.com

Brandi Piacente
Phone: +1 (212) 481-2050
Email: GDS@tpg-ir.com

GDS Holdings Limited

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